Theory and Data

Question 1

Structure vs Process

Answer 1

Structure: what personality consists of
Process: why people do what they do

Question 2

What are the two types of casality

Answer 2

mechanism: pushed from behind
teleology: pulled from ahead

Question 3

how do nature and nurture contribute to personality

Answer 3

Interaction between the two

Question 4

LOTS of Data?

Answer 4

L: life history
O: observer
T: tests
S: self-report

Question 5

what is quantification?

Answer 5

turning something into a number

Question 6

what 5 things must a good theory have?

Answer 6

systematic, comprehensive, simple, testable, generative

Question 7

systematic
comprehensive
simple
testable
generative

Answer 7

• elaborate what the theory means in different situations
• how much is explained
• how much machinery is required to understand
• motivate newresearch

Question 8

what are the 6 approaches to personality, what are the main themes in each?

Answer 8

psychodynamic: freud, unconscious
humanistic: human experience
trait: against psychodynamic, conscious
biological: biological underpinnings
learning: behaviourists perspective
social-cognitive: thinking patterns and interactions

Question 9

how are theories like toolkits?

Answer 9

they contain concepts for understanding personality